Kim Mounts, owner of Durham Market, and server Melanie Medore are seen at last year’s Taste of Durham.

Kim Mounts, owner of Durham Market, and server Melanie Medore are seen at last year’s Taste of Durham.

Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO — Durham Library

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Sweet treats by Sweet Harmony Cafe, of Middletown.

Sweet treats by Sweet Harmony Cafe, of Middletown.

Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO — Durham Library

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The Durham Library.

The Durham Library.

Photo: Kathleen Schassler — Middletown Press

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Taste of Durham offers chance to eat and be seen among the library stacks

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DURHAM >> The library stacks will set the scene for an annual winter party that draws a hungry crowd to Durham Library.

In its 21st year, the Taste of Durham is a major library fundraiser held on the first Saturday in February. It’s the “event of the season,” said Library Director Cyndi Shirshac, of East Hampton.

Like the volunteer army dispatched by the Durham Fair Agriculture Association, the fundraiser is 100 percent volunteer-powered, coordinated by the Public Association of Library Supporters. The event sells out annually, drawing up to 300 locals to sample unlimited food tastings, plus three servings from the bar, organizers said.

Durham Market owner Kim Mounts, a participant from the beginning, said she tries to offer something different each year.

“We try to change up the menu,” Mount said Wednesday. “We did soup one year, stuffed breads and salads another.”

The local market is known for its cold salads, such as potato and egg, and homemade baked beans, both landing on the tasting menu this year, said Mounts.

“The whole idea in Durham is that volunteers build up the community. It’s popular,” said patron Sue Vanderzee of Middlefield. “You don’t have to look far and wide to find (volunteers).”

New restaurants this year include Fire at the Ridge of Middlefield; Golden House of Durham; El Pulpo & Tapas Bar of Middletown; and Dad’s Restaurant of Wallingford.

Bruce Schmottlach, a library volunteer and retired music teacher from the Regional 13 school district, will play cocktail music on a piano upstairs.

“It’s a nice evening,” said wife Shirly Schmottlach, who volunteers as a server. “You don’t have to dress up if you don’t want to.”

Attendance at the event is limited to adults. Reservations at $35 are limited. The entry fee includes unlimited food tastings and three servings from the bar. The party will go on regardless of weather.

New P.A.L.S. volunteers are welcome to join anytime, said Pat Murawski, president of P.A.L.S.

“There aren’t enough of us,” she added.

In recent years, organizers have come to depend on Peter Magrane & the Drive-By Blues Band, who will entertain in the lower level of the library.

More than 20 area restaurants, caterers, and other businesses will offer sweet and savory foods and drinks. Even pets can enjoy a take-home pet treats, courtesy of Brenda’s Main Street Feed, in Durham. To see a full list of participants or buy tickets, visit durhamlibrary.org/taste-durham.

The event will run from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Durham Library, 7 Maple Ave. For more information, call 860-349-9544.